


Painting My Heart as Good as My Nails

by Tairulz



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Humor, Kokichi is a little shit to no-ones surprise, Miu is dense as a brick, Romantic Fluff, Shuuichi's both exasperated and amused, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, but it's adorable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-27 07:45:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13876362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tairulz/pseuds/Tairulz
Summary: It all started when Miu wanted her nails done.Most of the time, she didn’t give two shits what she looked like or what people thought of her. But one afternoon, she’d heard Tenko yapping excitedly to Himiko about this ‘super awesome’  SHSL Nail Artist from the neighbouring classroom, and some other vague bullshit about being the ‘perfect way to bond’ and ‘making a girl feel cuter then she already was’.She'd get her shit done and leave, nothing else there could possibly interest her, could it?





	Painting My Heart as Good as My Nails

**Author's Note:**

> I wish i was good at doing those funny intros, you know the ones where authors write characters having funny interactions in the notes? Lol yeah i’m not brave enough to try doing that.
> 
> Anyway, i read this one Shuichi/Miu one-shot, and damn i have a new appreciation for Miu. I mean, i didn’t hate her before, but damn after that one-shot i got super inspired.
> 
> This is Miu Iruma x Female! Reader (only height is mentioned for plot reasons, mostly fluff hehe)
> 
> Of all characters and shippings, this is not what i expected to write. But hey, Even though Miu isn’t my fav of all time *cough* Kokichi *cough*, she’s still pretty awesome.
> 
> Though i’m surprised, i was almost convinced that the V3 bonus mode was going to create so many crack ships XD
> 
> Warning for Miu’s swearing and inappropriate dialogue. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy anyway :)

It all started when Miu wanted her nails done.

Most of the time, she didn’t give two shits what she looked like or what people thought of her. But one afternoon, she’d heard Tenko yapping excitedly to Himiko about this ‘super awesome’ SHSL Nail Artist from the neighbouring classroom, and some other vague bullshit about being the ‘perfect way to bond’ and ‘making a girl feel cuter then she already was’.

She didn’t know that SHSL Nail Artist was a thing, but hey, if SHSL Robot was a thing, then she supposed that something more normal sounding like a nail artist could be a thing to.

She knew most of it was probably just the Aikido master trying to ask her (both poorly hidden and completely obvious) crush to go do something with her, which everyone but poor Kiibo knew meant a date at this point. Honestly watching Tenko constantly try to get her feelings across was both amusing yet almost painful to watch.

But something made her curious. Did it really make a girl feel that much better about herself, just by putting some coloured paint on her fingers?

Oh well, that’s what she was going to find out, right?

So when she walked into the (unsurprisingly) large and elaborate room that Hope’s peak had dedicated to beauty related talents. After a few seconds of searching, she found what she thought was the nail equipment section, and boldly made her way over there.

“Hey! Which of you shit-stains does the nail shit around here?”

A bunch of students, both ‘worker’ and ‘customer’ so to speak, turned to face her at the exclamation. Some were visibly put off, while others didn’t seem to care. Which wasn’t surprising, as Hope’s Peak hosted hoards of unique and talented students, which also meant you had a wide mix of personalities, both outlandish and more tame ones.

“E-excuse me miss.”

If Miu hadn’t been trained to hear things over the sounds of various machinery, she might not have heard it.

She turned to face the speaker. A girl a bit shorter then her with (H/c) hair was smiling nervously at her. Huh, she was actually kind of cute. 

“Yeah? The fuck are you?”

She almost felt bad when the smaller girl recoiled a bit. But swearing was just a natural part of her language, and she wasn’t about to change it now.

“I, uh… I’m (y/n) (l/n), i’m the Ultimate Nail Artist. Y-you were looking for me, i think?”

“Well duh! Did you not hear me as i made my grand entrance?”

(Y/n) laughed quietly.

“It was… ah, pretty hard to miss, i believe.”

Miu let out a loud cackle.

“Your damn fuckin right it was! My golden genius brain deserves nothing but all the best recognition.”

“Golden brain…?”

“Eh?! You aint heard of me?”

A shake of the head was the response.

“Well then, prepare to be amazed! I am the one, the only, genius girl inventor herself! The lovely Miu Iruma!”

“Well then, Miu was it? Did you need… uh, help with your nails? I assume you weren’t just here to break down the doors.”

“My classmate was yapping about how a good nail job would make you feel more ‘girly’ or some shit or rather, so i wanted to find out if it was bullshit or not.”

“Ah, i see.”

The other nodded. She led the inventor over to her nail section, and Miu was surprised about how much stuff was there.

“Don’t you just fix up nails and shit? What’s with all this stuff?”

The smaller girl sighed.

“That’s what everyone assumes, in fact a lot of people sometimes come to me just to ask me to paint their nails. There’s shaping, grooming, and several types of-”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s more then meets the eye or whatever.” Miu interrupted. “Tell me something more important.”

“Oh…?”

“Yeah, does all this girly shit really make you like yourself more?”

For a few moments (y/n) tapped her chin, humming in thought, then responded.

“It’s more of a psychology thing. If you do something nice for yourself, even something as simple as a hair-do or painting your nails, you make yourself _feel_ fancier, therefore you _are_ fancier. You’ve improved something about yourself, however minor, so therefore you it makes you feel like a better person overall, and that in turn provides one with confidence, however temporary.”

“Those that claim they don’t care or just give up and wear comfy clothes, a lot of them are really just lazy people. They’ve given up on thinking they look good, so why bother trying, cause they can’t improve anyway, right?”

“Though it it true that some just can’t be bothered with the hassle, or laid back or even tomboy might be the style for a select few, though sometimes that’s mostly for cost and convenience really. Ironic since i myself prefer comfy tomboy clothing. Most people are mistaken and think that looking good means expensive clothes, flashy jewellery and elaborate hairstyles are ‘fancy’, they think you have to go over the top just to improve how you naturally look.”

“Why do you think people spend so much money on a single top or dress? Nine out of ten those people are willing to spend so much purely for the brand. Why spend so much money on one scrap of fabric just because it has a famous name slapped on the label? They want the recognition, the compliments, and most importantly, the self confidence that comes with them.”

“Even someone like me, i paint whatever people want on their nails, and just something simple as that can make people walk out of the room feeling like they’ve won the lottery.”

Miu could only gape in awe. She had only asked about one thing, but she got a lot more then she bargained for, and she certainly didn’t expect the seemingly more shy nail artist to give such a long winded explanation.

By the look on the smaller face, she must have realised what she did.

“Aha, uh, oops. I sometimes get… carried away a bit when someone gets me talking about fashion.”

“I, uh…” Miu let out a laugh. “That was certainly a pretty impressive speech for a pipsqueak.”

“Thank you… i think?”

Miu shook her head with a smile, this chick was amusing.

“So… what are my options?”

————

The next time Miu walked in, she’d tried on some new boots to go with her normal outfit. Sure enough, the nail artist had noticed.

Most of the time (Y/n) was more soft spoken and reserved, but she could really get going when you asked for a fashion opinion. The blonde couldn’t help but smile. It was cute.

Cute? She felt her cheeks warm… what was this?

Before she could ponder too much on this, (y/n) had started talking.

“Shoes, just like bracelets and earrings, accessorise an outfit more then anything else, though it’s true that certain types of shoes are meant for certain functions.”

Miu nodded her head silently. Wondering what her new thoughts meant.

“Sometimes it’s the colour, other times it’s the shape. Depending on your choice, the right shoes can make or ruin an outfit. They can blend right in or look completely out of place. For example, your not exactly going to wear clunky rain boots with a skimpy cocktail dress are you?”

“Definitely not.” Miu scrunched her nose at the thought.

The giggle she received in reaction to that was definitely not cute.

———

“Wearing ‘loud’ patterns or very bright colours can work for select outfits, but they have to be worn tastefully. Mis-using them is like shining bright stage lights on yourself when your already in bright sunlight, you know? And just because the colours are bright or loud, it doesn’t mean they no longer have to co-ordinate. Certain colours will clash or blend regardless or subtlety or brightness.You have to pick and choose your pieces and accessories carefully if that’s what your going to do.” 

Miu had never really cared much about fashion, but the things (y/n) talked about made sense, or at the very least she understood where the other was coming from.

But as she was talking more and more with the shorter girl, she was very confused.

Since her classmate Shuuichi was such a smarty-pants, she decided to corner him one day before class.

“Yo! Poo-ichi! I need to talk to you.”

Said detective startled, then turned around to face her.

“Ah, Miu? Is there something i can help you with?”

“I….” She looked away and huffed. “You’re a smarty pants right? Help me figure something out.”

“It’s not a case is it? Are you in trouble?”

“No! I just… uh, don’t understand something. What of it?”

“Nothing, nothing Miu. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t hurt or in trouble.”

“My heart hurts dammit!”

The sentence was blurted out before her brain could filter it. Shuuichi jumped a little at the sudden volume.

“Your… heart?”

“That’s what i just said!” She snapped. “My friggin heart won’t stop annoying me, and i want to know why!”

“Okay.” Shuuichi looked mildly intrigued. “Just so i understand, this isn’t a heart problem? As in, are you sure it’s not a health issue?”

“It’s nothing like that. I just… feel funny, like with, uh, feelings and stuff.”

“Did someone upset you? Make you feel hurt or distressed?”

“Nope.”

“I see. When did this start?”

“Well…” Miu thought back. “It started when i went to see this pipsqueak girl that does the nail crap around this place. I heard Tenko babble about it and wanted to see if she was full of shit.”

“It wasn’t perhaps a chemical in the polish that she used?”

“No! It wasn’t the polish dammit, it was _her_.”

“You mean (y/n)? The Ultimate Nail artist?”

“Noooo… i meant the magical unicorn that’s flying past the fuckin window right now.”

Shuuichi huffed out a short laugh. Damn, screwing that Kokichi bastard must have really given him a confidence boost.

“So, (y/n) makes you feel funny? How so?”

“When she starts babbling on about fashion, i don’t find myself annoyed like i usually would if someone drones on, and actually like the sound of her voice. She’s a short little pipsqueak, but when she does this really genuine frickin smile at me i just want to hug her. My cheeks go red sometimes when she starts doing cute shit, but i don’t get it cause its warm in there, but not warm enough for my cheeks to match a goddamn tomato. I haven’t even got skin burn!”

For a few seconds, all Shuuichi did was stare. Like someone asking what air was.

Then he started laughing, a quiet and polite one, but amusement nonetheless. What the hell?

“Miu, i think i know what’s wrong?”

“What the hell is it? Cut the laughter and tell me dammit!”

“Miu… i think you might be in love with (y/n).”

She reeled back, expression that of a drenched cat.

Love? No way! She didn’t want to hold the other girl, or tell her how cute she was… or kiss her…

“Oh fuckin hell…”

“Miu?”

Oh crap, she said that out loud.

“I think you’re right… well shit…”

Her face brightened, and she scrambled over to her desk, pulling out a notebook and starting to scribble madly on a fresh page.

“Ah, Miu? What exactly are you doing?”

“Designing something awesome, duh-doy! I’m gonna woo the shit out of her!”

“Miu…?”

“What? Isn’t that what you do when you like someone, give them gifts and woo them and shit?” She grinned. “Don’t tell me you didn’t appreciate that Cock-ichi idiot giving you all the lovey-dovey crap he did.”

A faint blush came to the young detectives cheeks, and he muttered something Miu couldn’t hear.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Her grin widened as she cupped one ear with her hand.

“Ehhhh? Is someone embarrassing my beloved Shuuichi?” Oh great… it was _him_. “Don’t tell me you offered to show him your nasty saggy chest?”

Sure enough, in walks Kokichi, in all his smug purple and white glory. Immediately, he was clinging to Shuuichi’s arm.

“Soooo? What’d you do?”

“Nothing you idiot! And my chest is perfectly fine, dammit!”

“Aww, calling me names? How mean~”

“Shut up you talking grape!”

Shuuichi, thankfully for the two, averted Kokichi’s attention before the argument escalated any further.

“Come on, lets take our seats, yeah?”

As the two walked away, she could faintly hear more people coming in for the start of class. But she was barely paying attention. As soon as the detective and the talking raisin were gone, she was focused back on her notebook.

She was gonna make something goddamn cool.

The future queen of the girl genius deserved no less.

———

“Miu? Where are you going?”

Eh, whatever. Right as the question was announced, she was running towards the classroom exit. She wanted to see (y/n). After Shuuichi helped her to realise what she was feeling for the shorter nail artist, she’d spent the whole of class time until lunch thinking about the other girl. Not that she needed to pay attention, she was the great golden girl genius! She knew everything there was to know, obviously.

She was excited to see the other again, even if she had to sit through a ramble.

Damn was she going soft for this one.

“If you’re going to wear makeup-”

Heh, she was not disappointed.

“-then again, you have to be conscious of the outfit you’re wearing. For example, bright yellow clothes and pink makeup? Hello the eighties called, they’d like their colour scheme back.”

The inventor let out a snort of laughter.

“Although, personally i don’t understand the need for makeup. You already have a face, why do you need to paint it every other colour imaginable just to ‘improve your look? Half the time it looks blatantly fake, anyway. When i used to live with my mother, she always wore dark purple eye shadow, and because it was so dark it just looked unnatural.”

“That’s why you have to be careful. Because if you go to far or to wrong with your make-up, then you’ll end up looking like more of a clown or an art canvas then anything attractive. I respect that people have different tastes, but some things just don’t look right on anyone.”

As she filed Miu’s nails, she continued.

“Although, as i said previously in our discussion about clothes, i suppose it all comes down to psychology. People do it in an effort to improve themselves to make themselves feel good, however temporary.”

“Your mother?” For some reason, Miu was curious.

“Hmm? Oh her.” Miu was concerned when the other’s lips tightened into a thin line. “We haven’t been on speaking terms for a long time.”

“Why not? Friends tell each other don’t they?” Wait crap. “Wait, we are friends, right?”

She felt accomplished when the other girls face relaxed into a smile.

“Yeah, yeah i think we are.”

She glanced away, tapping her chin with her pointer finger, then back at Miu.

“And i believe you were curious about my mother? Well… to put a very long and neglectful story short, she preferred my older brother over me. You know how that sort of thing goes, right? Nothing i ever achieved was good enough, nor any ceremonies or activities worth showing up for, but the second my older brother achieves so much as passing a spelling test, he’s the king of the universe and the apple of our mother’s eye.”

“It probably didn’t help that my mother made it clear what kind of daughter she wanted. She wanted the nice perfect daughter, not a hair out of place, perfect grades, and perfect obedience. But when i was younger, i preferred running around with the boys and scraping my knees rather then being fake to impress them. That was only the start of it, to put it mildly.”

“So… i was left mostly in the care of my aunt, who owned a beauty salon. I basically grew up there, and she treated me like one of her own children.”

“So that’s how you got your talent?” (y/n) couldn’t help but laugh, Miu just looked so proud of herself for figuring that out. She didn’t have the heart to point out how obvious it was.

“Yes, it was. As the years went by, i helped my aunt in most aspects of her beauty salon, even working there part time officially when i got old enough. But, as you figured out, my specialty was anything to do with nails and their care.”

“Eventually, i got more and more recognition, so much so that i was invited to Hope’s Peak as the Ultimate Nail Artist. I made my aunt’s business successful, and now she owns a growing chain of beauty parlours. Sometimes on vacation i go to stay with her and help at various stores.”

“That’s…” Miu was practically speechless. “That’s fucking amazing!”

The brilliant smile she got in return made her cheeks warm.

“Thank you Miu.”

She wanted nothing more then to get up and hug the life out of (y/n). But at the same time, she didn’t want to smudge the hard work the other had put into her nails.

And she didn’t even usually care about appearances. Holy _shit_ was she going soft for this one.

Looking at that brilliant smile again, she found she didn’t mind.

———

Unfortunately, soon after that was the ‘Valentines Day Weekend’. The school acted like it was something special, but really all that happened was regardless of the actual days it fell on, all students and staff were given three days off before Valentines. But for whatever reason, the actual Valentines day was still a school day if it fell on a weekday. It was pretty weird, but most had just chalked it off as Hope’s Peak being unique, and moved on.

Not to say there weren’t a fair share of students that snuck off to go spend time with their significant others anyway.

So after this weekend, Miu was excited to show (y/n) the invention she had been working on. 

This would totally impress her! Right? Nah the blonde was being ridiculous, of course she would love it.

She had even taken the time to write one of those dumb sappy Valentine’s cards. She felt so dumb writing it, but if it worked then damn would it be worth it. She could make a small sacrifice like that easy if it meant getting the most epic girlfriend ever.

So now, she was skidding down the halls, triumphant look on her face…

Only to see some idiot boy pestering her (hopefully) valentine.

“… and so you’re the perfect valentine for me. I can already see myself introducing you to my family.”

“Y-you can’t just decide that! We don’t even know each other…”

The poor nail artist shifted uncomfortably, but the guy talking to her seemed to take no notice.

“That’s why we date, yes? I know a good place we can go.”

“Why… why would i agree?”

Without even thinking, Miu sprang into action.

_“BACK OFF ASSHOLE!”_

She jabbed the device she was holding in his direction. The arrogant boy only had a second to look stunned before he froze, jittered, and collapsed to the floor.

But her screech had also attracted her crush’s attention.

“Uh… Miu?! What did you just do?”

The blonde blinked.

“I just saved your ass! Lucky Tenko’s not here cause she would be that poor idiot to the moon and back! And i’d help.”

“W-what…? I don’t think going quite that far is necessary.”

“You’re concerned about him?”

“Only if you killed him. I wouldn’t like you going to jail just cause a guy didn’t realise i wasn’t interested.”

Oh, that was the problem? Heh, that was so like her.

“Of course not! My brilliant brain can’t be wasted rotting away in jail, duh-doy!”

“Then what is that?”

“Oh, this?”

“No, the elephant trampling around behind you, clearly.”

The inventor let out a bark of laughter.

“Ha! I think i’ve had an influence of you if your puny ass is being sarcastic now.”

“Miu…?!”

“Relax, it’s actually really cute.”

“ _C-cute_?!”

Oh crap, she was getting the order all wrong. Damn that stupid boy for messing up her perfect plan.

“Anyway, here!” She thrust the object into the other girls hands. (Y/n) accepted it, but looked very confused.

“Uh, Miu-”

“It’s a taser!”

“… taser?”

“Yuh-Huh! It’s super cool! It can do a variety of things, like adjusting the electricity level, and no it doesn’t have a fatal setting don’t worry. It also has a side pepper spray feature! Annnnd last and most importantly, it even works in your sleep!”

Miu gave a triumphant smirk, hands on her hips.

But to her surprise, (y/n) started laughing hysterically.

“H-hey pipsqueak, what’re you laughing at! I put effort into that just for you, you know!”

After a minute, the shorter girls laughter subsided, now muted giggles.

“No Miu, it’s great. It’s just… so very you. I love it.”

“Well obviously! The great golden genius made it, after all!”

“Miu… this wouldn’t happen to be a Valentines confession, would it?”

“Gah!” Miu jumped a step back, surprised. “W-what makes you say that!”

(Y/n) put the ‘taser’ in her pocket, then fished in her other one, pulling out a piece of paper.

“This… i found it in my locker this morning.”

Miu grabbed it. It read the following.

_‘Greetings, tiny nail artist!_

_I’m way to much of a chicken shit to confess my suuuuper obvious crush myself, so i got the help of the bestest, most kindest, and most talented friend ever, Kokichi._

_So i’d like to go a super lovey dovey date with you! Will you accept?_

_From your favourite Saggy-chested inventor, Miu Iruma_

_PS. You should all hail Kokichi Ouma as your god and saviour. Nishishi~’_

The whole thing was written in purple crayon. That, plus the name on it, made it completely obvious who sent it.

“I’m gonna kill that little gremlin!”

Her hands clenched, scrunching the paper.

“Is… is it true?”

Miu froze, realising exactly the implications of what just happened. Oh shit, shitshitshitshit _shit_ -

“B-because i’d… i’d love to if that was the case…?”

The look on the others face would have been adorable, if she hadn’t been so nervous.

“I-i can do much better letters then that walking Ribena packet!”

With cheeks slightly pink, (y/n) accepted the second letter, and scanned it. After she finished, she looked up with a smile on her face.

“That’s so sweet Miu! You did all this for me?”

“W-what? Two letters and a present wasn’t enough for you?”

(Y/n) approached Miu, placing her hands on the taller girls.

“No, that’s not what i meant at all! I’d actually love to go on a date with you, if you’d have me…?”

The nail artist squeaked when she was pulled into a tight hug.

“Of course! No-one but the finest of queens for me!”

“Wouldn’t it be more like princess…?”

“Shut up and don’t ruin the romantic moment, dammit!”

“Ehe, sorry…”

“You’re lucky we’re girlfriends now.”

**EPILOGUE:**

“Come back here you insolent little eggplant!”

“Eeeeeek! Shuuuuuichi… the rancid cow is trying to kill me!”

“Why you…! I’ll get you for that you poisonous lavender!”

The detective turned to the smaller girl beside him.

“Shouldn’t we stop them…?” 

“Nah.” (y/n) waved a hand dismissively. “They’ll tire themselves out eventually.”

Shuuichi wasn’t entirely convinced, but let the matter drop anyway.

“You’re mine for the smashing you putrid passionfruit!”

“Shuuichi help! She’s using alliteration now, are passionfruit even purple?”

“Yes they are, you horrid nuisance! Now get here so i can kill you!”

“Oh wooooow, Miu actually knew something! I’m so surprised.”

“I’m an inventor, you jackass! Come here!”

“Neveeeeeeeer!”

“Gahhh!”

**Author's Note:**

> So, did i keep Miu in character? I tried my best. I just really wanted to get this idea out.
> 
> It was super annoying, auto correct kept changing Miu to ‘Liu’ and i had to edit that so many times.
> 
> (Okay, so i maaaaay have caved and mentioned Kokichi/Shuuichi briefly… ehe oops. I just love them together so much.)
> 
> I had no idea how much detail and jargon went into a simple sounding job like a nail artist, i mean each job has their own expertise area, but sheesh. Yeah it’s not nearly as bad as some other more complicated careers, i was just a little surprised.
> 
> Also haha whoops, i went on a bit of a tangent with the fashion rant didn’t i? When i was first writing this I swear i originally meant to stop at ‘therefore you are fancier’, but then inspiration hit like lightning and i before i knew it, i’d written like five paragraphs and turned like half the one shot into fashion discussions.
> 
> Aha jeez, for a tomboy i’m awfully opinionated aren’t I? 
> 
> My god i don’t think i’ve ever spent this much time talking about fashion in my life, most that know me would probably question my identity XD
> 
> Cya next story :)
> 
> Tairulz


End file.
